Hand-car



l(No Model.) Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

H. SMALL.

HAND GAR..

No. 567,662. ,Patentedsepn 8, 1696.

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2 sheets-sheet 2.

t H. SMALL.

HAND GAR (No Model.)

No. 567,362lv Patented Sept. 8, 1896.

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pair of operating-levers 10 by rods 11.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY SMALL, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.'

HAN D-.CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,362, dated September 8, 1896.

Application led May 22, 1896. Serial No. 592,59'3. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY SMALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have invented anew and useful Hand-Car, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in hand-cars.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of hand-cars, more especially the driving mechanism for propelling them, and to provide a simple and effective brake for the same.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a hand-car, partly broken away to show the gearing. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away to show the gearing. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the brake. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the crank-shaft. Figs. (i and and 7 are detail views of the connecting-rod. Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of the sockets of the operating-levers.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a hand-car frame, constructed in any suitable manner, forming a platform and provided with suitable bearings for the reception of axles 2 and 3,whichhave wheels 4 fixed to them in the usual manner. The axle 2 has mounted on it a sprocket-pinion 4a, on which is arranged an endless sprocketchain 5,Which extends from the sprocket-pinion 4a to a sprocket-wheel 6, iixed to `a crankshaft 7, and the latter is journaled at the center ofthe main frame in bearing-boxes or suitable supports 8. The crank-shaft,which is disposed transversely of the frame of the Y hand-car, is provided With crank-arms 9, ar-

ranged at right angles and connected with a The operating-levers,which are located at a point between the sprocket-wheel and the sprocketpinion, consist of sockets 12 and suitable bars secured in the sockets by pins or other suitable fastening devices, and the sockets are bifurcated for the reception of the adjacent ends of the connecting-rods.

The gearing is housed in a tool box or casing 13, which extends beyond the operatinglevers and which forms a fulcrum or support for the same, the operating-levers being fulcrumed on pins or bolts 14, mounted on the tool box or casing at the sides thereof.

The gearing is simple, strong, and durable and enables a hand-car to be conveniently and rapidly7 propelled, and the parts are not liable to get out of order.

If desired, any suitable shifting device may be employed for throwing the sprocket-pinion into and out of gear` by enabling the axle to turn freely within it, so that the driving mechanism will not be operated when the hand-car is descending an incline. WVhen such shifting mechanism is employed, it will enable the sprocket-pinion to be readily keyed or otherwise fixed to the axle when it is desired to propel the hand-car; but as such shifting mechanism does not form a part of the present invention, and as it is well known in the art, illustration of it is unnecessary.

The hand-car is provided at one side with a brake consisting of a brake block or shoe l5, located between the adjacent wheels and provided withinclined sides formingv a wedge, and a lever 1G, fulcrumed at its lower end 0n the frame of the hand-car and pivotally connected at 17 at al point intermediate of its ends to the brake-block, at the top thereof. The lever extends above the brake-block and is adapted to be depressed to force the same downward into contact with the car-wheels, and the inclined sides which engage the carwheels are curved to conform to the configuration thereof. The brake-block is normally supported out of engagement with the car-Wheels by a spiral spring 18, mounted on the platform or frame of the hand-car and supporting the lower edge of the foot-lever 16.

It will be seen that the hand-car is simple and comparatively inexpensive in 'construction, that Athe driving mechanismis positive and reliable, and that a simple and effective brake is provided.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to-without departing from the principle or IOO sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Vhat I claim is- 1. In a hand-car,tl1e combination of a frame, axles supporting the frame and provided with Wheels, a sprocket-pinion fixed to one of the axles, supports 8 mounted on the frame and provided with bearings, a transversely-disposed crank-shaft '7 j ournaled in the bearings of the supports 8 and provided at its ends with crank-arms, a sprocket-wheel fixed to the crank-shaft, an endless sprocket-chain arranged on the sprocket pinion and the sprocket-wheel, a box or casing receiving the gearing, operating-levers located between the sprocket-wheel and the sprocket-pinion and fulcrumed on the box or easing, and connecting-rods extending from the operating-levers to the crank-arms, substantially as described.

2. In a hand-car,the combination of a frame, axles supporting the same and provided with wheels,. means for propelling the hand-car, and a brake comprising a brake-block located at one side of the frame between the wheels at a point'above the axles, said brake-block having curved side edges and adapted to be moved downward into engagement with the Wheels, an inclined foot-lever fulcrumed at its lower end on the frame and pivotally connected ata point intermediate of its ends with the brake-block, and a spring supporting the lower edge of the foot-lever and holding the brake-block normally out of engagement with the car-wheels, substantially as described.

3. In ahand-car,the combination of a frame, axles supporting the frame and provided with wheels, a sprocket-pinion xed to one of the axles, a transversely-disposed crank-shaft 7 provided at its ends with crank-arms, a sprocket-wheel ixed to the crank-shaft, an endless sprocket chain arranged on the sprocket-pinion and the sprocket-wheel, operating-levers located between the sprocketwheel and the sprocket-pinion, and connecting-rods extending from the operating-levers to the crank-arms, substantiallyas described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY SMALL. lVitnesses:

L. BENEDICT, Il. G. MEYER. 

